You may have heard of the Kent Roosevelt offensive tackle who was just diagnosed with bone cancer, ending his promising football career. His high school coach knows Tressel and reached out to him for some support for the kid, whose 20 recruiting letters a week were about to dry up completely.

A letter from the OSU coach would have undoubtedly lifted the kid's spirits. Instead what he got was a package of over 100 letters from OSU players and staff. It's the difference between doing a kind and thoughtful thing yourself, and using the occasion to give a life lesson to players and subordinates...while multiplying many times the "feel good" on the other end of the gesture.

"I believe it is the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting." H.L. Mencken

This is just devastating. We (Kent Roosevelt) lost a great kid named Benny Cowgill about fifteen years ago from the same disease. Took him off piece by piece. Tressel was at YSU and really reached out to him at the time.

Coach Nemec is a very good man and a good football coach (CEO type more than an x's and o's type) having played under him for two years in HS. This must be incredibly difficult for him to go through, not to mention what the young man is going through. Keep him and Ryan in your thoughts.

I agree with Peek. Love the guy, hate the crime, I hope he stays because he does a lot more than most of us will know. He does a ton with vets.

Devastating stuff for the kid and his family as a father of four I have no idea how I would even begin to cope with that.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.